The Washington Post - 05.10.2019

D6 EZ SU T H E  W A S H I N G T O N  P O S T.S A T U R D A Y, O C T O B E R  5 ,  2 0 1 9

short by injuries. Last year, he

completed 34 of 54 passes (63.0

percent) for 372 yards and three

touchdowns with three intercep-

tions before he broke his leg.

“I haven’t gotten a lot of time

with them outside of Paul [Rich-

ardson Jr.] and Trey [Quinn], real-

ly,” McCoy said this week, speak-

ing of the team’s receivers. “So the

more I can work with those guys,

the more confidence I’ll have....

Training camp, although it start-

ed out well, it went downhill real

fast. I think everyone still has

some visions of that, especially

me. More than anything, it’s just

time and figuring out how I’m

moving around, how I’m throw-

ing the ball. It’s my plant leg. So

far, it’s felt good.”

Gruden would not name a

backup for Sunday, setting up

what could be a potentially awk-

ward situation in which either the

season’s starter, Keenum, or the

future starter, Haskins, might not

dress.

[email protected]

Given the numerous references

he made to wanting to see how

McCoy came out of each practice,

the ultimate choice of McCoy

seemed likely, especially with Mc-

Coy’s familiarity with Gruden’s

offense.

“It means a lot,” Gruden said

when asked how much McCoy’s

knowledge of the team’s system

played in Friday’s decision. “Any

coach will tell you that. It’s very

important for a quarterback to

know your system; otherwise you

have to change your system.... I

think all three of the quarterbacks

know the system, but Colt has the

most experience in it. He’s very

comfortable with it. But we’ll see.

This will be a great test for him; he

hasn’t faced a live rush since Phil-

adelphia last year. I think that will

be the biggest test for him.”

McCoy, 33, was a star at the

University of Texas and has

shown flashes of being a good

NFL quarterback, but most of his

chances in Cleveland and later

with the Redskins have been cut

large part because the 31-year-old

had NFL starting experience and

was well ahead of first-round

draft pick Dwayne Haskins, who

started only one year at Ohio

State. While Keenum has thrown

for 970 yards this season, he has

missed several open touchdowns

that could have changed the tone

of at least three of the Redskins’

four losses. He sprained his foot

in a Week 3 loss to Chicago and

has been forced to miss some

practices since.

Gruden replaced Keenum with

Haskins in the second quarter of

Sunday’s 24-3 loss to the New

York Giants. After Haskins was

intercepted three times, Gruden

took the rare step of announcing a

three-man competition for the

starting job this week, knowing

McCoy would be able to partici-

pate in full practices.

But even as Gruden said the

three would battle, he hinted that

he already had made up his mind.

REDSKINS FROM D 1

the moments magnify in the

postseason, it’s impossible to

count on seven innings from the

starter.

Patrick Corbin went six on

Thursday, creating a yawning,

one-inning chasm between the

starter and Hudson and Doolittle.

Thursday night revealed the

Nationals had never found a third

pitcher reliable in high-leverage

spots. Their eighth-inning trouble

came an inning early.

If Doolittle gets used early, there

are other buttons for Martinez to

press. He can matchup later or

lean on Hudson for six outs. He

has options, and Thursday night

suggests he should use Doolittle

however he can to minimize the

potential impact of MVP

candidate Cody Bellinger or any

other Dodgers left-hander hitter in

a crucial spot.

— Sam Fortier

deficit and combined for four

hits, two walks and four earned

runs across two innings.

It raised again a question that

has hung over the team all

season: Did Manager Dave

Martinez put in the wrong

pitchers, or does he have no right

answers in relief?

The answer is unclear. It might

be both.

The Nationals hid their middle

relief not just against the

Milwaukee Brewers on Tuesday

but through most of the season as

starters often carried the team

through seven innings. The

bullpen used to blow up in the

eighth, when it lacked a setup

man, but those meltdowns

subsided once the Nationals

acquired Daniel Hudson, a

second trustworthy reliever to

pair with Sean Doolittle.

But as the margins shrink and

Excerpted from
washingtonpost.com/nationals

Nats still don’t have

reliable third reliever

The Washington Nationals could
get through the wild-card game
by hiding their bullpen, but the
National League Division Series is
different. The best-of-five format
demands teams pitch their
middle relievers, and when the
Nationals finally did Thursday
night, the Los Angeles Dodgers
exposed and exploited their
greatest weakness, eventually
hammering home runs through
the night sky to punctuate what
became a 6-0, series-opening loss.
The Nationals’ three relievers
— Tanner Rainey, Fernando
Rodney and Hunter Strickland —
couldn’t maintain a two-run

for him right now,” Gruden said

about McLaurin, a productive

rookie who still leads Washington

in receiving yards and

touchdowns despite missing a

week. “It is probably 50-50 with

him.”

Cornerback Josh Norman

(knee) is listed as questionable

but was a full participant in

Friday’s session. Linebacker Josh

Harvey-Clemons (hamstring) is

out after not practicing all week.

For New England, running

back Rex Burkhead (foot), safety

Patrick Chung (heel), safety Nate

Ebner (groin), wide receiver

Julian Edelman (chest) and

linebacker Dont’a Hightower

(shoulder) are all listed as

questionable.

Patriots wide receiver Josh

Gordon (knee) and defensive end

Michael Bennett (shoulder) did

not receive an injury designation

after being full participants Friday.

— Kareem Copeland

of the line since he played right

tackle in high school.

“It was a good learning

experience,” Martin said.

“Assignments and techniques is

really the main focus. If you do

those things right, then

everything else will just kind of

fall together.”

Quarterback Case Keenum,

who started the first four games,

is questionable with a foot injury

and will not start in any case.

Coach Jay Gruden named Colt

McCoy the starter Friday and

declined to say whether Keenum

would be the backup if healthy.

Center Chase Roullier (knee)

and wide receiver Terry McLaurin

(hamstring) are both

questionable after being limited

in practice all week. Neither

played last week, and Gruden

called McLaurin a game-day

decision after not having him go

full speed in Friday’s practice.

“Questionable is a great word

Excerpted from

washingtonpost.com/redskins

Scherff, Davis, Reed

out against Patriots

The Washington Redskins’

offense will be missing major

pieces for a second consecutive

week as the team limps into a

showdown with the defending

Super Bowl champion New

England Patriots.

Pro Bowl guard Brandon

Scherff (ankle) will miss his

second consecutive game, while

tight ends Vernon Davis and

Jordan Reed both remain in the

league-mandated concussion

protocol and will not play against

the Patriots. Rookie Wes Martin

will make his second consecutive

start at right guard after making

his NFL debut in last week’s loss

to the New York Giants. It was the

first time he was on the right side

R E D S K I N S N O T E S

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Atlanta received approval to re-
place injured reliever Chris Mar-
tin with Julio Teheran on its Na-
tional League Division Series ros-
ter.
The switch will have a big im-
pact on the Braves’ pitching plans,
with 17-game winner Max Fried
possibly taking a more significant
role in the bullpen.
“It’s going to affect the bullpen,”
Manager Brian Snitker said be-
fore his team’s victory in Game 2
on Friday. “That’s a huge hit right
there. Probably Max is going to
need to maybe fill that role and
pitch some of those high-leverage
innings late in the game. We know
he can do it. And he’s got stuff to do
it and all that.”
Martin reported tightness in
his left oblique while warming up
for the eighth inning of Game 1 on

Thursday night.

l CUBS: Former Chicago catch-

ers Joe Girardi and David Ross

will speak with the team next

week about its managerial open-

ing.

The team also plans to inter-

view first base coach Will Venable

next week. Bench coach Mark Lo-

retta interviewed for the job

Thursday.

The Cubs are searching for a

successor to Joe Maddon, whose

contract expired after Chicago

missed the playoffs this year for

the first time since 2014.

Girardi is the first external can-

didate confirmed by the team. Lo-

retta and Venable were part of

Maddon’s staff this season, and

Ross works in the Cubs’ front of-

fice.

Girardi, who turns 55 on Oct. 14,

is a Peoria, Ill., native and played

college ball at Northwestern.

l BREWERS: Milwaukee is

hoping Yasmani Grandal and

Mike Moustakas will be back next

season after the team made back-

to-back playoff appearances for

just the second time in franchise

history.

Grandal and Moustakas have

mutual contract options. Grandal,

who led NL catchers with 28 hom-

ers, probably will decline his

$16 million option, and Mousta-

kas could be a free agent for the

third straight offseason if either

side declines the infielder’s

$11 million option.

l ASTROS: Starter Wade Miley

made Houston’s roster for the AL

Division Series despite struggling

for the past month.

The Astros left veteran Brad

Peacock off after he made just

three appearances in September

and missed almost a month deal-

ing with shoulder soreness.

BASEBALL NOTES

Braves’ bullpen takes a hit with injury

N A T I O N A L S N O T E S

BY PAUL NEWBERRY

atlanta — Adding another
chapter to his remarkable turn-
around season, Mike Foltynewicz
threw seven crisp innings before
pinch hitter Adam Duvall hit a
two-run homer that carried the
Atlanta Braves to a 3-0 win over
the St. Louis Cardinals on Friday,
evening the National League Divi-
sion Series at one game apiece.
Foltynewicz, who spent a good
chunk of his summer in Class AAA
after a miserable start, has been a
different pitcher since he returned
from the minors. He went 6-1 with
a 2.65 ERA over his past 10 starts —
a dominating run that carried
right into the postseason.
The best-of-five series now
shifts to St. Louis, where Mike
Soroka gets the ball for the Braves
in Game 3 on Sunday against
Adam Wainwright.
Going against St. Louis ace Jack
Flaherty, who had one of the great-
est second halves in baseball his-
tory, Foltynewicz allowed only
three hits, didn’t walk anyone and
struck out seven during an 81-
pitch outing that kept the Cardi-
nals from mounting any sem-

blance of offense. They only got

one runner as far as second base

against him — and that was in the

second when Yadier Molina sin-

gled and Braves second baseman

Ozzie Albies extended the inning

by misplaying Paul DeJong’s

grounder for an error.

But Foltynewicz fanned Harri-

son Bader to end the threat.

After Kolten Wong hit into a

double play to end the seventh,

Duvall emerged from the dugout

to hit for Foltynewicz in the bot-

tom half. With a runner aboard

and two outs, Duvall was greeted

by a smattering of boos from the

SunTrust Park crowd that clearly

wanted Foltynewicz to go at least

one more inning — especially after

the Braves’ bullpen imploded the

night before in a Game 1 loss.

The heckles turned to cheers

when Duvall drove a 3-2 pitch

from Flaherty into the center field

seats, giving the Braves a 3-0 lead.

Duvall spent nearly the entire sea-

son at Class AAA, where he set a

franchise record with 32 homers,

so it wouldn’t be a stretch to say

this was as much a victory for the

Gwinnett Stripers as the Braves.

Max Fried, normally a starter

and pitching on back-to-back days

for the first time all season,

breezed through the eighth before

turning it over to Mark Melancon,

who gave up four runs in the ninth

inning of the series opener, send-

ing the Braves to a 7-6 loss.

It was another shaky outing for

Melancon, who gave up a pair of

one-out singles before striking out

Molina and Wong to earn the save.

But this one will be remem-

bered for Foltynewicz outdueling

Flaherty, who had surrendered

three earned runs only one time in

15 second-half starts. The 23-year-

old right-hander went 7-2 with an

0.91 ERA in 15 starts after the

all-star break, the third-lowest

ERA over the second half in base-

ball history, surpassed only by

Jake Arrieta (0.75) for the 2015

Chicago Cubs and Greg Maddux

(0.87) for the 1994 Braves.

Flaherty was the NL pitcher of

the month for both August and

September.

Foltynewicz has the edge for

October honors, having pulled off

his own tale of two seasons. An

all-star in 2018 who started two

games for the Braves in last year’s

playoffs, he was demoted to the

minors in late June with a record

of 2-5 and a 6.37 ERA.

Now, in a game the Braves abso-

lutely had to have, he turned in his

best performance of all. The only

time he was really threatened was

in the fourth, when Wong hit one

to the warning track in right with a

man aboard for the third out.

— Associated Press

NATIONAL LEAGUE DIVISION SERIES

Foltynewicz helps Atlanta even it up

McCoy will start vs. Patriots

JOHN MCDONNELL/THE WASHINGTON POST

Colt McCoy has been the Redskins’ backup for most of the five-plus years Jay Gruden has been the coach.

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Sam Darnold’s return will

have to wait at least another

week.

The New York Jets quarter-

back was ruled out for the team’s

game at Philadelphia on Sunday

as he continues to recover from

mononucleosis.

Darnold was originally sched-

uled to have medical tests Friday,

but the doctors instead ran them

Thursday night.

“The labs didn’t come back the

way that we were hoping,” Coach

Adam Gase said Friday.

Darnold was diagnosed with

mononucleosis Sept. 11, three

days after the season-opening

loss to Buffalo. The initial hope

was the 22-year-old quarterback

might be ready to play again this

week, but doctors have been

monitoring Darnold’s spleen,

which became enlarged, a com-

mon symptom of mononucleosis.

A swollen spleen could rupture —

a potentially life-threatening sit-

uation — if the area takes a hit,

leading to the caution the doc-

tors and team are using.

Luke Falk will make his second

straight start.

l JAGUARS: Jacksonville will

be without cornerback Jalen

Ramsey for a second straight

week when it plays at Carolina,

and now the team wants its

disgruntled star to see a back

specialist.

Ramsey has requested a trade.

He was inactive for the first time

in his four-year career last week

at Denver.

l PANTHERS: Quarterback

Cam Newton will miss his third

consecutive game with a foot

injury when Carolina plays Jack-

sonville on Sunday.

Kyle Allen, who is 2-0 as New-

ton’s replacement, will start.

l FALCONS: Coach Dan

Quinn said six-time Pro Bowl

center Alex Mack will play at

Houston on Sunday after practic-

ing for the first time this week,

but Atlanta got some bad news

when punter Matt Bosher was

ruled out with a groin injury. The

Falcons do not have a punter on

the practice squad and will need

to fill Bosher’s spot quickly.

l BROWNS: Wide receiver

Odell Beckham Jr. was fined an

undisclosed amount by the NFL

for fighting Baltimore’s Marlon

Humphrey on Sunday.

Wide receiver Jarvis Landry

cleared the concussion protocol

and practiced.

l BUFFALO: Quarterback

Josh Allen was a full participant

at practice and is questionable

for Sunday’s game against the

Tennessee Titans as he recovers

from a concussion.

Allen was injured on a helmet-

to-helmet hit from New England

cornerback Jonathan Jones.

l GIANTS: Running back Sa-

quon Barkley will miss his sec-

ond straight game with an ankle

injury. Coach Pat Shurmur an-

nounced that Barkley and line-

backers Alex Ogletree (ham-

string) and Tae Davis (concus-

sion) will not play in the home

game against Minnesota.

l RAMS: Linebacker Clay Mat-

thews will be out for several

weeks after he broke his jaw

during Los Angeles’s loss to the

Seattle Seahawks.

The Rams think Matthews was

hurt late in the game Thursday

night when Seattle running back

Chris Carson inadvertently

kicked him in the face.

NFL NOTES

Tests on spleen rule out Jets’ Darnold

BRAVES 3,

CARDINALS 0

JOHN AMIS/ASSOCIATED PRESS

Mike Foltynewicz, sent to the minors earlier in the year, buoyed the Braves with seven scoreless innings.